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Royals score 7 in 2nd, beat Twins 12-6

Associated Press, Associated Press 7:34 p.m. EDT August 17, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 17: (L-R) Alex Gordon #4, Jarrod Dyson #1 and Norichika Aoki #23 of the Kansas City Royals celebrate a win of the game against the Minnesota Twins on August 17, 2014 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Royals defeated the Twins 12-6. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)(Photo: Hannah Foslien Getty Images)

MINNEAPOLIS - Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez and Josh Willingham homered, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 12-6 on Sunday for their 20th win in their last 25 games.

Kansas City sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times in the second, keyed by two-run singles for Alcides Escobar and Nori Aoki. The Royals also increased their AL Central lead to 1 1/2 games over Detroit, which lost 8-1 to Seattle.

This is the latest the Royals have been in first place since 2003.

Kansas City's Jeremy Guthrie (9-10) returned to the mound after a 54-minute rain delay in the fourth and lasted seven innings, yielding home runs to Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas.

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